


Your Heart is a Galaxy

by WildWolf25



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bonding, Gen, Gender Issues, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Nonbinary Character, platonic, questioning gender, screw stereotypes you do you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 13:20:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10900191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildWolf25/pseuds/WildWolf25
Summary: “But I’m not like you, Pidge.  I don’t...” Shiro broke off, sounding frustrated.  Pidge waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts and continue.  “You’ve got that androgynous look going on; you can look either way.  But me… it’s pretty obvious what I am.”  He gestured to himself, looking morose.  Pidge could see what he was getting at.  Shiro wasn’t small or slender by any means.  He was tall and broad, with very prominent musculature.“You’re right.  It is pretty obvious what you are.”  Pidge leaned forward and poked him in the forehead.  “You’re human, Shiro."





	Your Heart is a Galaxy

“Never mind what you are made of -- you are more than this flesh that binds you.  There is nothing you have to fear that should not fear you a thousand times more.  Your heart is a galaxy, and your soul is lined in stars.  You are something extraordinary, my dear.”  (M.A.W, _So Do Extraordinary Things_ )

* * *

Shiro knocked lightly on the wall before stepping through the open door to Pidge’s room.  “Hey Pidge, what are you up to?”

“Trying to figure out this Altean tech… thingie.”  Pidge frowned and poked the glowing blue object that didn’t seem to have a consistent form.  It was constantly shifting and changing shape, almost like liquid, but had to be solid, because they were holding it in their hand.  

“Thingie?”  Shiro chuckled.  “Is the the technical term?”

“Well, what would you call it?”  Pidge asked, holding it up for him to see.  Shiro honestly didn’t know.  It looked a bit like a giant amoeba, the ever-changing depths sparkling like a tiny galaxy was trapped inside it.    

“Thingie works.”  He said.  Pidge nodded decisively and went back to picking it apart with a screwdriver.  Shiro watched them for a few moments.  “Well, if you’re busy, I can come back later.”

“I’m not.”  Pidge said, looking up.  “What’s up?”

Shiro studied them.  “What about your Altean tech thingie?”  He asked.

“Oh, I was just working on it because I was bored.”  Pidge waved a hand carelessly.  “You need something?”

“How… um, how did you know you were non-binary?”  Shiro asked.  Pidge looked up at him, blinking in surprise.  

“Are you asking about me or… for someone else?”  Pidge asked carefully.  

Shiro thought about it.  “You.”  

Pidge arched an eyebrow at him, not really buying it, but Shiro clamped his mouth shut and refused to say anything else.

“Okay,” Pidge set the mystery tech on their desk and swiveled around in their chair to face him.  “Well, for me, I definitely knew the feeling before I was able to put a word to it.  Ever since I was a kid, I haven’t really cared about ‘boys stuff’ and ‘girls stuff’, like with clothes and toys and stuff.  Those kinds of boundaries have always seemed a little silly to me.  I just wore what I wanted, did what I wanted.  Then, when I got older, I realized that I was applying the same logic to myself; I didn’t see myself as a girl or a boy, not especially.  It was only through talking with friends that I realized that not everyone saw things the same way I did.  So I did a little research, and was reading about different gender identities, and that one just clicked.”  They shrugged.  

“Huh.”  Shiro nodded thoughtfully.   

“But you want to know what the biggest tip-off was?”  Pidge told him, looking serious.  “If you find yourself questioning your gender, you’re probably not cisgender.  If there’s any doubt or questioning in your mind, it might be worth it to explore that.”  

Shiro looked down and shifted his weight.  “We’re not… talking about you anymore, are we?”

“I don’t think we are, no.”  Pidge said.  “Do you want to sit down?”

Shiro hesitated for a few moment, weighing his options, then took a seat on the edge of Pidge’s bed with a heavy sigh.  Pidge set the screwdriver and the Altean mystery tech on their desk, then scooted their desk chair closer.

“So,” Pidge started, resting their ankle on top of their other knee.  “What’s up?”  

Shiro didn’t really know where to begin.  He looked down and picked at a loose thread on the blanket.  “It’s probably nothing, I guess… I mean, we’re in the middle of a war here.  We’re busy being the defenders of the universe.  I don’t really have the right to waste time thinking about this stuff.”  

“Shiro, until Allura calls us into battle, we literally have nothing to do.”  Pidge reminded him.  “If I can spend my free time picking apart weird Altean tech, you can use yours for self-reflection.”  

“I guess.”  Shiro admitted.  

“Do you want to talk about it?”  Pidge asked.  

“I… I don’t know.”  Shiro said slowly.  “I don’t even really know what it is that I’m feeling.  Did you ever feel like that?”

“Oh yeah, loads of times.”  Pidge nodded.

“What did you do about it?”  Shiro asked.

“I did what I do best,” Pidge shrugged.  “Borderline-obsessively dive headlong into research.”  

“I don’t think I’m much of a researcher.”  Shiro said.  He tended to learn things better by doing them and committing them to muscle memory.  On the Kerberos mission, Dr. Holt and Matt had been the ones who had poured over books and research notes.  He had mostly been there to fly and operate the ship and help carry their equipment.  That wasn’t to say he hadn’t studied at the Garrison; he had, very much so.  One didn’t get to be a pilot of a scientific expedition into space without having a certain amount of knowledge under their belt.  It just wasn’t something he did in his free time like Matt tended to do.  

“Just as well, since I don’t think you can exactly google gender identities online out here.”  Pidge said.  “We’re a bit outside the reach of the World Wide Web.”    

“Then what should I do?”  Shiro asked.

“Well,” Pidge looked thoughtful.  “I mean, I’m not an expert on gender identities, by any means, but I did do a lot of research for myself so I know a fair amount.  You could ask me, if you wanted, and I’ll tell you what I know.  Sometimes even just talking it out helps people figure out what it is they’re feeling.”

“Maybe.”  Shiro thought about it.  There was something else that was bothering him.  “It’s probably not really worth it, though.  I’m not really someone who can question their gender.”

Pidge frowned lightly, tilting their head.  “What do you mean?”  

Shiro sighed heavily.  “It’s just… I’m the head of Voltron.  I’m in a leadership position.  I can’t have any doubts about anything.  I don’t have the luxury of being able to question something like that, not when the universe and my team needs me to protect them.”  

“It isn’t a matter of ‘luxury’,” Pidge said.  “Everyone doubts themselves sometimes, because we’re human.  You can defend the universe and explore your gender.  The two aren’t mutually exclusive.” 

“But I’m not  _ like you _ , Pidge.  I don’t...” Shiro broke off, sounding frustrated.  Pidge waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts and continue.  “You’ve got that androgynous look going on; you can look either way.  But me… it’s pretty obvious what I am.”  He gestured to himself, looking morose.  Pidge could see what he was getting at.  Shiro wasn’t small or slender by any means.  He was tall and broad, with very prominent musculature.  

“You’re right.  It is pretty obvious what you are.”  Pidge leaned forward and poked him in the forehead.  “You’re human, Shiro.  You’re free-thinking, so you’re free to question yourself and explore how you feel.  Gender isn’t something that you can see on the outside; that’s gender expression or presentation, and even that isn’t an accurate reflection.  But just gender, that’s all in how you feel, how you view yourself.”  

Shiro let himself smile the tiniest bit.  “I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right.  I’m always right.”  Pidge put their hands on their hips.  “Now, how about we grab some snacks, build a blanket fort, and talk it out?”  

He laughed, and his heart felt a little bit lighter.  “Sounds good.”       

**Author's Note:**

> Like the seventh time I re-read this I noticed that the Altean tech "thingie" was a pretty good symbol for the fluidity of gender.... ha ha I totally planned that, yeah... 
> 
> Please let me know if you enjoyed it! I also have a tumblr: wildwolf25.tumblr.com


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